Lawrence Okolie expects Chris Billam-Smith to defeat Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez on Saturday – and then to fight Jai Opetaia in 2025.
Okolie sacrificed the WBO cruiserweight title when suffering his only defeat, by Billam-Smith, in May 2023.
He has since moved to bridgerweight, and most recently heavyweight, where on December 7 he will fight Hussein Muhammad.
By the time Okolie enters the ring that night at London’s Wembley Arena, his reputation may well have been undermined or enhanced.
Should Billam-Smith, as he expects, on Saturday overcome Ramirez – the 33-year-old WBA champion – at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he will have provided the latest demonstration of his status as one of the world’s two finest cruiserweights. If he loses observations will likely be made regarding his and Okolie’s perceived limitations, instead of plans being made for a fight with the IBF champion Opetaia to determine their division’s true number one.
“He’s very tenacious; consistent,” Okolie said to BoxingScene of his one-time stablemate and opponent. “Those are his main two attributes. He was good enough to beat me, so I think he’s pretty good. There’s nothing amazing about him, but he just puts it all together pretty well. He hasn’t got any A factors, but he’s a very good all-rounder.
“His confidence is going to be sky high, so that’s probably the best thing that’s come from [becoming a world champion].
“[His past opponent Richard] Riakporhe and me are two different fighters, so it’s tough, because Riakporhe’s not as good as me, but if you’ve beaten me, you know you can dodge someone’s right hand. All the attributes that Riakporhe has, I have, and maybe a little bit more. So, yeah, his confidence is sky high.
“I wish him the best. I still root for him.
“It’s a good fight. Chris should win, because he’s been campaigning at cruiserweight, and ‘Zurdo’s’ not really a fast guy – he’s a good worker, and Chris is a good workhorse himself, so Chris should win a points decision.”
At 34 years old Billam-Smith is at his peak. Mexico’s Ramirez turned professional at super middleweight; for the victor, Opetaia of Australia potentially lies in wait.
“I think that will come early next year,” Okolie said. “I think that’s a great fight. Watching Opetaia against [Jack Massey, who was stopped,] I was shocked, because he’s not a big guy, but he’s very well put together; lands good, clean shots, so it’s a good fight.”